Smart punching

A sheet processing apparatus comprising a print engine, a sheet punching device for punching a set of two or more spaced holes arranged on an imaginary line in sheets processed by the apparatus, and further comprising a processor unit for controlling the apparatus, including the punching device,

• wherein the processor unit controls the apparatus in punching the set of holes in all sheets of a first batch, in a first position, the sheets of the first batch having substantially equal size and orientation,
• said processor unit enabling an operator of the sheet processing apparatus to specify:
• at least one second batch of sheets having substantially the same size and orientation as the sheets of the first batch,
• a shift of the position in which said set of holes is to be punched in the sheets of the second batch, to a second position, and
• a shift of the position of any printed images, for aligning the images on all sheets when the holes of all sheets are aligned,
• and to control the apparatus in printing shifted images and punching the set of two or more spaced holes in the second position in the sheets of the second batch,
• thereby creating a staggered stack of sheets with the images on all sheets aligned, when subsequent first and second batches of sheets are stacked with holes aligned, when placing them in a ring binder;
• wherein a specified second batch of sheets is a sub-set of a processing job, for creating a staggered stack of documents with aligned holes.